Box Score DANVILLE, Va. – Junior rightfielder Andrew Davies belted a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift Averett to a 5-4 win over Washington and Lee in baseball action on Wednesday afternoon at Owen-Fulton Field.
The Cougars (3-3) sent the game to extra innings when junior first baseman Kevin Alvarez led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo home run to left field off of W&L (2-2) senior left-hander Nate Plein (El Cajon, Calif. / St. Augustine) to knot the game at 4-4.
The Generals had claimed a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning by scoring a pair of unearned runs. Senior centerfielder Keegan Dolan (Bethesda, Md. / Landon) reached on an error by senior shortstop Jason Carter and junior third baseman Taylor Rowe (Charlotte, N.C. / Myers Park) followed with a grounder to first-year third baseman Daniel Gromkoski that also resulted in an error. First-year designated hitter Ryan Weston (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) then walked and, following a strikeout, sophomore right fielder Luke Myer (Durham, N.C. / Durham Academy) reached on a fielder's choice. Carter committed his second error of the inning trying to record a force at second, allowing both Rowe and Dolan to cross the plate.
Averett climbed to within one run when senior right-handed pitcher Cody Moore was struck by a pitch to start the seventh inning. After moving to second on a single, he later scored on a fielding error by Rowe with two outs in the frame.
W&L claimed an early lead in the contest as Dolan led off the game with a home run off of Moore. The Cougars tied it in the bottom of the first on a two-out RBI single by Moore, but the Generals wrestled the lead back in the top of the second when senior first baseman Josh Josephson (Boca Raton, Fla. / American Heritage) reached on a throwing error and was later plated on a two-out double by first-year shortstop Colton Campbell (Deatsville, Ala. / Holtville) to make it 2-1. Averett then knotted the score at 2-2 in the third on a bases-loaded single by Carter.
Dolan led the Generals at the plate by going 2-for-6 with a home run and two runs scored. Rowe also went 2-for-6 with a double, while junior left fielder Drew Weprinsky (Atlanta, Ga. / Westminster) finished 0-for-6, snapping his 31-game hitting streak that began last February. His last hitless outing was exactly one year to the day, going 0-for-3 in a 6-4 win over Emory on Feb. 19, 2013.
Sophomore right-hander Kyle Tipping (Green Lane, Pa. / The Hill School) was saddled with the loss (0-1) after pitching 2.0 innings, allowing one hit and striking out two with one walk. Junior right-hander Matt Hedberg (Charlotte, N.C. / Myers Park) started the contest, but pitched just 1/3 of an inning before giving way to the bullpen. As a staff, the Generals surrendered just eight hits over 11 innings pitched.
Alvarez and Davies led Averett at the Dish, with both going 2-for-6 with a home run. Sophomore right-hander T.J. Viracola picked up the win after tossing 3.0 innings of scoreless ball, allowing one hit with two strikeouts and a walk.
Washington and Lee returns to action on Saturday when it plays host to Maine-Presque Isle for a doubleheader starting at 12:00 pm.
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